Finding the right culture with LaTorsha Hill, Director at Hewlett Packard

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Hey everyone and welcome to the Interview Expert Podcast.

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I'm your host Owen Murray, an interview coach, podcaster and recruitment manager.

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Thanks to each and every one of you who come back to listen, learn and grow.

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This podcast is where hiring managers from diverse backgrounds share their insights to

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support you on your interview journey.

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Join us as we explore tips, strategies and real-world experiences to help you ace your

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interview and land your dream job.

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And welcome to today's episode, Culture Matters.

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I am thrilled to have a remarkable guest with us today, LaTorsha Hill.

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A senior director at Hewlett Packard, LaTorsha describes herself as a human-centric leader,

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an advisor, a coach and a player.

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I think you're really going to enjoy this one.

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In this episode, LaTorsha and I deep dive into the importance of finding the right company

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culture.

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Join us as we explore strategies, insights and personal experiences to help you navigate

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the search for a workplace culture that aligns with your values and goals.

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So sit back, hit play and let's reshape the way you approach finding the right company

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culture.

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But before we get into it, I have one favour to ask you.

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The majority of people who watch and listen to this podcast have yet to hit the follow

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or subscribe button.

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I can't tell you how important this is.

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If you hit that follow or subscribe button, I promise I will get more guests that you

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want to see.

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And thank you for lending me your ears, whether you're walking, running at the gym, walking

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the dog, cooking, whatever you're up to.

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Thanks for listening to the interview expert.

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LaTorsha, how are you?

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Welcome to the show.

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It's fantastic to have you here.

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Just to kick things off, LaTorsha, would you mind introducing yourself to our listeners?

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Share maybe a bit about yourself, who you are and what you do.

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We're really excited to learn more about you.

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Absolutely.

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Thanks so much, Owen.

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I'm happy to be here.

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So hi, everybody that will be listening.

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I'm LaTorsha Hill and my role is Senior Director of Culture, Equity and Inclusion Programs

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at HP Inc.

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I'm based in Austin, Texas in the United States.

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I have a little dog that is my baby.

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And yeah, we have a good time.

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Love to do nature walks, love to kind of be out in the environment, love to travel and

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very excited to be here today because I think the topic is very top of mind and a passion

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area for me.

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So happy to be here today.

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Fantastic.

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Thanks for that great introduction, LaTorsha.

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What advice would you give to someone trying to pursue a career similar to yours, LaTorsha?

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Yes.

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So my, this is interesting because my career is a little mixed, right?

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So I've done a ton of things, but all within this area of human resources or now we're

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moving to the terminate, the terminology of people, right?

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Our people organizations.

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But I've had a career that has kind of spanned across many disciplines within HR.

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And interestingly enough, I actually do what I went to school to do, which I actually think

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is kind of cool.

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It took me a while to get there in school, kind of trying to figure out what I was interested

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in.

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And I really liked human resources at the time because I figured it could be a career

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where I could do a lot of different things, but still stay within the same field.

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And that appealed to me because I can get bored quite easily.

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So I like to switch things up.

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So in my career, I have kind of jumped around and done different things from recruiting

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to program management to benefits to HR business partner to learning and organizational development

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now in culture and diversity, equity and inclusion.

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So I have definitely kind of run around the, the, the sprint of HR rotations throughout

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my career.

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And I would say, you know, if anybody is kind of interested in this sort of career, it's

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about raising your hand and making, you know, that, that known to other people.

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Right.

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I don't think HR is a difficult field to enter.

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I think you just have to be very specific on where, because not all disciplines within

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the field are easily transferable, but some of them are.

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And so I would say, if you are interested, find people that you might know that are in

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the field and just start to ask questions.

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Right.

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And we've had, you know, throughout my career, I've seen several people come from other organizations

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from, you know, technical and non-technical backgrounds come into HR and take a rotation.

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And it's worked out really well.

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And so I don't think it's a exclusionary field at all.

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I think it's just about really kind of exploring it, seeing where your interest is, and then

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kind of making your, you know, voice known that that's something that you're interested

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in and kind of networking to find individuals that may be able to kind of help connect you.

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Absolutely.

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And you use a really good expression there, raising your hand.

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Right.

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And I think, I suppose for anyone out there that's looking to get into something like

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you got into originally, Latourche, HR, you know, it's important you get in front of the

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experts and who actually, you know, have these type of careers.

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And you also mentioned networking as well.

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You know, networking and speaking to people that actually do these type of jobs is so

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effective, not just to find out information about the field, but also to use that information

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in your interviews as well.

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Absolutely.

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I suppose for anyone out there that, you know, I think you came across HR.

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How did you come across that?

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What was the process and what was the sort of stood out to you as being really important

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and kind of then going into that career?

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Yeah, this is, I love this question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about my

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family a little bit.

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So I was raised in Detroit, Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, within the United

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States, which for those of you that may not be familiar with Detroit, it is dubbed the

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Motor City capital of the United States.

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So it's where you will find a lot of the top three US car manufacturers, their automobile

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plants where they actually build and manufacture the cars.

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So being from Detroit, my family, a lot of them worked in one of these auto industries.

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I would always hear these stories about labor relations and the unions, right?

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The fight between labor relations and the unions.

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It was like a circus for me, but it was like pure entertainment because I had so many family

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members and friends that worked in the auto industry.

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And so it intrigued me from a young age to understand the dynamics between labor unions

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and labor relations or the management groups within these auto companies.

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And so that kind of piqued my interest.

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And I went to school and I knew I kind of wanted to work with people, but I didn't kind

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of know how and in what way that would show up.

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And so to be honest with you, my first two years of undergraduate school, I kind of like

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meandered around and tried to figure out like what I wanted to do.

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And it wasn't really great.

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I kind of didn't feel great about myself because I was like, hmm, it feels like all of my friends

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know what they want to do.

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They're very focused.

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And I'm kind of like wandering around waiting for something to smack me in the head.

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And finally that happened for me in my junior year.

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And I met a person that was actually in graduate school and she was doing a program that was

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called a master's of labor relations and human resources.

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And so I'm like, oh, that sounds really interesting.

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Tell me more.

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And the more I learned about it, the more intrigued I was.

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And so at that point I wasn't even considering graduate school, but I knew that I wanted

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to get a concentration in this area.

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I knew I wanted to make money in this area.

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And so I convinced myself I needed to go and get my master's degree.

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So I finished undergrad and went straight away to graduate school.

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And thankfully I did get accepted into that program.

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And in that program, I very much thought I was going to go the labor relations route.

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But actually as I started to get into my coursework, I was finding myself more intrigued with the

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human resource management side of the house.

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And so it kind of took off from there.

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And that's sort of where I kind of spent most of my time in my program.

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You got to actually choose which track at a certain point in the program that you wanted

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to go.

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And I actually ended up choosing the human resource management side of the track.

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And I don't regret it.

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One of the best decisions I've ever made in my life to do that.

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So that's kind of how I got to where I got.

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Amazing.

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It's so refreshing to hear that.

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And I love the way sort of maybe if you hadn't met that person, that career would have been

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different, right?

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Absolutely.

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I could be a software engineer, right?

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I know sort of throughout your career as well, Latourche, culture within an organization

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has been something you have been involved in.

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And I'd love to know sort of, you know, from a candidate's perspective when they are interviewing,

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it's important that they find out what the culture of the business is like, because the

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culture of the business is not right for everyone sometimes.

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How do you think a candidate could find out about the culture of a business during the

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interview process?

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I love this question.

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And I think it's one that we should all be asking ourselves more.

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I've done a lot of interviewing in my career.

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And I would say I very rarely hear people ask about the culture, right?

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I think people assume that I go into the website and, you know, it tells me certain facts about

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an organization.

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Great.

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I understand it.

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But I would actually encourage candidates to really dig in.

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So when you're on your websites and you're looking at the company and you see things

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that are intriguing for you, when you have that opportunity to meet with that recruiter,

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really impress them on what those things look like.

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Right.

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So, hey, I see that you, you know, you believe in diversity and inclusion within your organization.

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Tell me what that looks like.

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Right.

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How do you all demonstrate that within your organization?

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How does that show up within your communities that you're working with?

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Right.

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Really don't be afraid to kind of go in and press and ask those questions because culture

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is really big.

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Right.

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It will be a maker or breaker of, you know, how you enjoy your career and the work that

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you contribute at your company.

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And so I really highly encourage people to spend more time probing recruiters and hiring

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managers about the culture and what it actually looks like in real life and not shying away

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from those tough questions to make sure that, you know, when you get that offer, it is truly

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somewhere that you see yourself fitting in, in a culture that really embodies your values.

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Absolutely.

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And it's such a good question to ask during the interview process.

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Right.

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It really shows how interested you are in actually the culture of the business and,

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you know, how everyone communicates with everyone.

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I think for anyone looking at what type of culture a business has, you know, empathy

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is a huge one that I always say to my clients to look out for, especially when you meet

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your potential boss or your manager.

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You know, and can you relate to those people as well that you've met?

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Also as well, I always think the companies that I've joined anyway, the Torsia, the companies

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that offer good benefits, usually, you know, there's a positive culture there because they

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take care of their employees as much as possible.

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And there's one thing as well that I never really got used to in my career.

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And I don't know what your opinion on this will be, La Torsia, but the less politics

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in a company, the better when you get in because you can end up spending your time in a company

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that has a lot of politics, most of your time dealing with those politics, rather than actually

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getting on with your job.

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I don't know what your thoughts are on that.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I, you know, I want to just, I will say, don't let me forget if I forget to get back to your

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question on the politics, but I want to back up and actually say, I think it's important.

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The future is, and I know I said this before, and I may be a bit repeating myself, but those

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that are listening, like this is so, so incredibly big.

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At your point about empathy really resonated with me because I recall years ago, I was

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interviewing for a role and it was a very prestigious company.

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Everyone would know it if I mentioned it.

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And I had a great rapport with the recruiter and then I got to the hiring manager and I

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could just tell after that 45 minutes of speaking with her that it was not a fit.

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I did not feel the empathy.

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I did not feel like the care for me as a person.

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Like in that 45 minute conversation, it felt like, you know, she was just checking off

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a list of what she can get from the machine and I was the machine.

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So I left that interview with her, though I was invited to continue, I promptly called

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the recruiter and said, I am not going to continue.

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And here's why.

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And interestingly enough, the recruiter told me, yeah, I was hoping that that wouldn't

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be your experience, but this is what we've heard from other candidates.

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So trust your gut when you are in those scenarios where you're not feeling that it's a right

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fit.

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If you have the flexibility to do that, obviously I know everybody has different circumstances,

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but if you have the flexibility, you know, to be choosy and selective, be choosy and

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selective and find that organization that has that culture that really resonates with

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your values.

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To your point about the politics, very quick answer here.

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Yes, absolutely agree.

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The thing that's challenging there though, Owen, is that sometimes you can't really

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get a full understanding of the politics until you're actually there.

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But to the degree that you can figure it out, like if you know someone within your organization,

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within the organization already that can help shed some light, it is absolutely a benefit

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if you have less of the politics so that you can really focus on the things that matter.

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Yeah, it is.

240
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It's true, Latouria.

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Like it's hard to find that in an interview process because no one's really going to share

242
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that with you.

243
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I think what you're talking about there, especially when you talk about meeting your manager,

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your future manager, it's an automatic red flag.

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If you're not building rapport with that person, you're not going to look up to them, you're

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not going to learn from them.

247
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That's an automatic red flag.

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And I think you did a great thing by going back to your recruiter and saying thank you,

249
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but no thanks.

250
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You know, the worst situation you get into is go down the interview process, accept the

251
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role, still have that red flag.

252
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And then in six months time realize, oh, I shouldn't have actually taken the job because

253
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this is not the right manager for me.

254
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So yeah, politics, you're right.

255
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You don't see it until you get into a business.

256
00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:18,560
Absolutely.

257
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Sometimes you can figure out some things ahead of time, but you know, it can be tricky to

258
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understand the full gamut of politics until you're actually a part of the organization.

259
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So yeah.

260
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What is your biggest failure in the torture and what did you learn from us?

261
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,440
My biggest failure.

262
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This question is interesting.

263
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I definitely love it.

264
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:53,200
I usually struggle with answering it because I want to tell you everything because I'm

265
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a very hard critic of myself and I want to be, but I want to make sure I'm very helpful

266
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to others that may really be listening and trying to glean something from our conversation.

267
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So I'll talk about a time where I did something that was a complete like wrong thing to do.

268
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And I tell this story because of the profound lesson that I got as my manager, interacting

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with my manager after that thing happened.

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So years ago in my career, I was responsible for very sensitive data, like data that nobody

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else in the company should see, but just a few people in my role.

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And I accidentally shared that data with like a whole distribution list of people and they

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were able to like see each other's confidential information.

274
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I literally wanted to liquefy and burrow into the ground because it was just the absolute

275
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wrong thing to do.

276
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I thought I was going to be fired.

277
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I thought that I was going to be reprimanded.

278
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I thought that I was just going to completely ruin my career.

279
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The lesson that happened though, when I told my manager, because I knew I had to tell my

280
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manager, this is something you can't just sweep under the rug.

281
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And I had the conversation with my manager.

282
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He was fantastic.

283
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The way he responded to me was the thing that made me the manager that I am today.

284
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So instead of reprimanding me, he acknowledged that, yes, that's probably an unfortunate

285
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thing.

286
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Probably it is, but it happens.

287
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You're human and it's going to be okay.

288
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And just his response to me, the empathy, the respect, the understanding, the calmness,

289
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I take that with me today.

290
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This is years ago.

291
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:15,800
I remember that day like it was yesterday, but that was one of the first things that

292
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:23,000
really started to build my building blocks of a leader, if you will, is to recognize

293
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the person is the most important thing.

294
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Mistakes happen.

295
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We deal with them.

296
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We learn from them and we move on.

297
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Today, I am the most anal retentive person when it comes to data that you will ever meet.

298
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I'm checking and checking, making sure that there's only the person that needs to be on

299
00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:50,520
this email, on this email, like it's encrypted with a password.

300
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,360
I'm sending it to myself to make sure it's encrypted.

301
00:20:54,360 --> 00:21:04,200
So I learned a very valuable lesson with that, that I may have not known or learned if that

302
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,680
wouldn't have happened or it would have taken me longer to learn in my career.

303
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:14,400
And so while it was a huge mess up and a failure and I really was hard on myself, I got two

304
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,640
very, very valuable lessons.

305
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:23,160
One that I, both that I take with me, one on how I kind of interact and deal with things

306
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:29,360
as a part of my job and two, who I am and how I show up as a leader.

307
00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:35,240
I think we've a common team here on this podcast, Let's Worry, Share, Base.

308
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:39,640
Whatever job you get, make sure you have a leader that you can look up to and learn from

309
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,240
and someone that you can respect like the leader you had.

310
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:44,840
And that's what makes a good leader, right?

311
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,320
And they're hard to find.

312
00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:47,320
Absolutely.

313
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,280
So yeah, so it keeps coming up there as well.

314
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:54,800
And I think you really showed your, you're showing now your self-awareness that you've

315
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,400
made that mistake previously and you'll never make it again.

316
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,400
So yeah, it's a great story.

317
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:03,400
Fingers crossed.

318
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:04,400
Thank you for sharing that.

319
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:05,400
Fingers crossed.

320
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,840
We'll never make, we haven't done it again, but you know, fingers crossed that that won't

321
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:10,840
happen.

322
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:11,840
But yeah, I agree.

323
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:12,840
The theme, that is absolutely.

324
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,400
The theme and I'm very fortunate.

325
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:23,680
I realized that, that I've had a slew of very good managers in my career.

326
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:30,680
And so I try to take those good pieces from each of them to build my own self.

327
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:37,920
I'm very far from perfect, but I try to learn and take those good nuggets from all of the

328
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,560
wonderful people that I've had a chance to work for.

329
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,400
And it kind of shows that you're obviously taking that into account during the interview

330
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:51,560
process as well, that when you met someone that you felt would be a good leader, you

331
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,000
know, you clung onto that and you accepted the job when they offered it to you.

332
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
Right.

333
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:03,160
So, and if you want to progress in your career, your leader makes you do that and supports

334
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:04,600
you with that.

335
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:09,800
So yeah, you've chosen wisely.

336
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:15,600
Are there any, anything you've read or listened to recently that has inspired you?

337
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:26,520
Well, I wouldn't say recently, well, it depends on how you define recently, but I'm a huge

338
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,960
Brene Brown fan.

339
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:38,920
And I listened to her probably more so for myself, myself and my own wellbeing versus

340
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:40,840
me as a professional.

341
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:46,520
But one of the things she said to me, not to me, I didn't have lunch with Brene Brown,

342
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:53,520
one of the things she said in a meeting or interview, someone was interviewing her, she

343
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,220
started talking about perfectionism.

344
00:23:57,220 --> 00:24:02,360
And I've always prided myself on being a perfectionist.

345
00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:08,200
And she actually introduced the concept that perfectionism isn't actually an accolade that

346
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:09,840
we should aspire to.

347
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:17,200
It's actually a signal of some things that are going on internally, probably around some

348
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,720
insecurities, right?

349
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,040
And not feeling good enough.

350
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:26,480
And so we over rotate into this space of perfectionism.

351
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:33,240
And that actually really kind of stuck with me for a while in thinking about why I'm so

352
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:40,600
focused on being perfect with everything, and really allowing me to now start to apply

353
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,560
that into my work.

354
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:49,840
And I think it's really helping me understand kind of where I am and how I got to where

355
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:56,160
I am, but also helping me understand how I think about my work different as a result

356
00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,880
of kind of my mental conditioning of perfectionism, right?

357
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,160
I know I've just said a lot of things that are like very squirrely.

358
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:10,480
So just really more specific is that I don't now think about perfectionism as a goal.

359
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:12,880
That's not my North Star.

360
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:17,480
I don't think it's healthy for me to think about everything in context of perfect.

361
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:24,580
And I now spend more time asking myself what actually needs to be perfect versus what can

362
00:25:24,580 --> 00:25:27,440
just be good or good enough.

363
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:34,560
And that's really helping to kind of alleviate some pressures on me as a professional.

364
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:35,560
Where could she be found?

365
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,080
Is it a book, LaTourche, or is it a podcast?

366
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,160
Oh, she can be found everywhere.

367
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:44,040
Brene, I was listening to her on, it was an interview.

368
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,440
I think I was just watching her on YouTube.

369
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:52,360
But if you Google her, she has books, she has podcasts, she has interviews.

370
00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:57,000
I think she even has a series on HBO Max.

371
00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:58,360
I mean, she's everywhere.

372
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:03,400
She's very well known, at least within the States.

373
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,880
So definitely recommend Miss Brene Brown.

374
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:08,880
Very good.

375
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,640
I think I'm going to give her a listen myself.

376
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:12,640
Oh, yeah.

377
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,680
I actually, I read a book recently by a girl called Bill Walsh, and this is kind of apt

378
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,560
for someone in the US.

379
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:29,120
So Bill Walsh was a coach for the NFL, for the 49ers, and the 49ers weren't doing well

380
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:31,640
at all until he came on board.

381
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,760
And the book is called The Score Will Take Care of Itself.

382
00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,240
But we're on that theme of leadership, right?

383
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:38,960
So it's back to that again.

384
00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:43,840
And he totally changed the culture within the whole club.

385
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:49,760
So I think he called it a club in the US, he called it a club over in the UK and Ireland.

386
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:55,560
But even then to what the receptionist said on the phone to someone calling in, to how

387
00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:02,680
everything looked inside the dressing room, to what the clothes were worn by the 49ers

388
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,880
team at shows and down to a tee.

389
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:12,800
And the whole idea was that if he changed that whole culture from the bottom, the score

390
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,560
then on the scoreboard will take care of itself.

391
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,800
And he went on to, the 49ers went on to win four or five Super Bowls.

392
00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,160
I'm not a big NFL fan at all.

393
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:28,580
I was recommended this book by a friend and I read it and I just couldn't put it down.

394
00:27:28,580 --> 00:27:34,820
So anyone that is an aspiring leader, a leader themselves, are not a leader at all who would

395
00:27:34,820 --> 00:27:36,680
recommend to read.

396
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,360
It definitely connects to our theme today of leadership.

397
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:47,320
If you were a mysci as LaTorresha, what question would you have asked yourself that I didn't?

398
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:52,560
Oh, this is a hard question.

399
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:59,800
Well, me being the ham that I am, I would have asked you, what's the secret to getting

400
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:00,800
the job?

401
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,760
And now you want me to answer it, I'm sure.

402
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:06,800
That's a good question.

403
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:08,400
And I'll take that LaTorresha, right?

404
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,040
So you can ask me, don't worry.

405
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,640
There's no huge secret.

406
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,140
It's about executing a good interview process.

407
00:28:16,140 --> 00:28:22,520
It's about finding the right company for yourself and for you to have a work life balance.

408
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:28,480
That is absolutely so important in this world we live in now.

409
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,800
And if you can find that, which, you know, it sounds like you did in your career and

410
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:42,000
have hold onto it because it's a rarity in the job market these days.

411
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,480
And you know, have a good think before you accept a job.

412
00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,280
I've said this on other podcasts as well.

413
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,520
Write all the negatives, positives down and then make a decision.

414
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,320
Don't make a quick decision.

415
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:54,960
So no huge secret.

416
00:28:54,960 --> 00:29:00,160
An interview process is actually more simple than you think.

417
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:04,880
And yeah, just make sure you choose the right business.

418
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:10,600
Because as I said, it's so important to, you know, your job is important, but the rest

419
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:11,880
of your life is more important.

420
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:14,760
So that's what I would say to that question.

421
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:15,760
I love it.

422
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,400
That's a perfect answer.

423
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:18,400
I love it.

424
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,120
And I probably would have answered very similarly.

425
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:23,120
Brilliant.

426
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,080
LaTorresha, my last question.

427
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:31,560
What are the top three tips for anyone out there that you would give in interviewing

428
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,280
at the moment for a job?

429
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,240
I would say, let's see if I can get to three.

430
00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:43,400
The first thing that comes to mind is I kind of piggybacking on what you just said, right?

431
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,800
I kind of want to piggyback on that.

432
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:50,360
It's be specific with what you want, right?

433
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:58,000
I think that's so important to really understand what do I really want to do, right?

434
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,960
I can't do every job.

435
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,240
Probably don't want to do every job.

436
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,800
So I should be very specific on what do I want, right?

437
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:15,000
When you understand and know what you want to do, your passion automatically comes through.

438
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,120
And people can see that.

439
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:22,560
As an interviewer, I can absolutely tell when somebody is very passionate about the work

440
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,400
versus someone that's just trying to get a job.

441
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:27,400
It shows.

442
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,840
It's like you might as well wear a big clown suit, right?

443
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,680
It's very, very obvious to be able to tell the difference and differentiate.

444
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,920
So if you can get really specific on what you want and really hone in on the things

445
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:46,320
that you're excited and passionate about, that will show up for you, which then in turn

446
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:52,480
is a signal to the recruiter hiring manager of your interest and your passion in actually

447
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:53,480
doing that role.

448
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:58,800
And then the other thing is probably really obvious, but I can't emphasize it enough is

449
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:05,160
having the opportunity to find other people that may be doing the same type of role you

450
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:09,080
want to do or in the type of company that you want to do.

451
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:15,280
So leveraging those sites that you have, your network and really kind of spending time in

452
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:20,240
your network, maybe even before you actually need a job so that when you need a job, you're

453
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:24,520
not just reaching out to somebody because you need them to do something for you, but

454
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:32,600
that you're actually keeping those relationships warm and you're actually investing in the

455
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:38,860
relationship of your network contact so that when you have that opportunity, you can reach

456
00:31:38,860 --> 00:31:45,800
out and really get their perspective, their help, their influence in helping you to hopefully

457
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:46,800
attain your next role.

458
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:47,800
So I didn't get to...

459
00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,800
Yeah, I got to Timo and sorry about that.

460
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,560
No, no, those were really good.

461
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:58,040
And it's about taking your time on understanding what you want, first of all.

462
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:03,080
That doesn't just only go for someone maybe at graduate level who's looking to start their

463
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:04,080
career.

464
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,520
You can go for someone that has gone into a career and maybe they want a career change

465
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:13,720
and they can be specific and ask themselves what they want to do after that and actually

466
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:21,360
how the skills that they have already learned can better them in a different type of career.

467
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:22,360
Absolutely.

468
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,640
We see that all the time.

469
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,760
So don't stay in something just for the sake of it.

470
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:31,200
Stay in something, as you said, that you're passionate about.

471
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:38,040
I love the networking piece, especially when you're in a job, you forget that you could

472
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:44,200
be out of a job someday and you will reach out and use that network.

473
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,120
And it could be that LinkedIn message that you sent three years ago that could come in

474
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:54,000
handy for someone you need to support you with your job search when you are looking

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00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,000
for a job.

476
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,040
Well, LaTorre, it's been a pleasure.

477
00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,240
Thank you so much for coming on and sharing everything you did.

478
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:07,560
I think I really, really enjoyed our conversation and all the best with everything.

479
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:08,560
Thanks so much, Owen.

480
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:14,040
I enjoyed the conversation as well and happy to share anytime.

481
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,480
See you.

482
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,120
Thank you for listening to the interview expert.

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00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:25,680
Make sure to check out our website, yourhire.ie, where you can subscribe to the show and also

484
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,000
find out more interview tips and tricks.

485
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,360
While you're at it, if you find value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating wherever

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00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:33,360
you get your podcasts.

487
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,120
Or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too.

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00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,100
Owen Murray is available for private coaching.

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00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:42,960
See our website for details at yourhire.ie.

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00:33:42,960 --> 00:34:00,560
Until next time, do good, feel good and be good.